


Waltz of the Pantheons

by sadiekqne



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29796099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadiekqne/pseuds/sadiekqne
Summary: Drew Tanaka does not do relationships. It was a simple fact. Grass is green, Zeus is a dick, Drew Tanaka doesn’t do relationships. Meaningless hook-ups? Fair game. Friends with benefits? Pushing it. Feelings? Romance? That was far beyond the scope of Drew Tanaka. Or, it was, until Billie Ng came around.Their relationship was not easy, but at least they only had to worry about one set of insane ancient gods. Right? Wrong. Drew Tanaka attends the Brooklyn Academy for the Gifted, or, as Billie now affectionately calls it, Brooklyn Academy for the Godly.A short Drillie story of sorts.
Relationships: Billie Ng/Drew Tanaka
Comments: 10
Kudos: 13





	1. The Recital

Billie twirled her girlfriend’s dark hair around her index finger, admiring it for a few seconds before letting it drop. Briefly, it held a ringlet shape before unraveling, joining the mass of silky hair currently in her lap.

“So,” she began, the single word laced with a trepidatious undertone. From her lap, a small hum pursed from Drew’s lips, urging her to continue. “Your recital is tomorrow.”

Drew immediately tensed, eyes fluttering open to gaze up at Billie’s. Billie loved her eyes; they were warm and inviting, despite their rich, dark color. They weren’t particularly warm right now, though. Maybe she had made a mistake bringing up the recital.

“I’m aware.” Drew’s tone was curt. Her glaring eyes and unkind tone warned, Danger! Do not keep pressing me!

“Well, I was wondering what the dress code was, I want to look nice but not over-do it.”

“You’re not coming.” Ouch.

“It’s one of the biggest of the year, Drew. You have a solo. I’m coming.” At that Drew lifted her head out of Billie’s lap. She immediately missed its warmth and weight. Her girlfriend spun and sat on her heels, her dangly earrings clicking gently as she did so.

“Sorry, I don’t think I made myself clear: I don’t want you to come.” Any other person hearing Drew Tanaka’s venomous voice in that moment might have shrunk back, let alone the words themselves. Billie just sat straighter. Drew stared icily. Billie cocked her head slightly and stared right back. Drew’s brow furrowed, and her eyes narrowed. Then, just as quickly as the showdown had begun, it ended, with Drew sighing heavily and slouching backwards.

If there was anything Billie Ng was adept at beside propagating pothos and making drool-worthy fruit platters, it was quenching her girlfriend’s fiery outbursts.

“I’m sorry.” Drew’s voice was soft. Billie gave a small, encouraging smile. Drew was _not_ easy to be in a relationship with. As Billie had heard dozens of times when she began to express interest in Drew, Drew Tanaka does not do relationships. It was a simple fact. Grass is green, Zeus is a dick, Drew Tanaka doesn’t do relationships. Meaningless hook-ups? Fair game. Friends with benefits? Pushing it. Feelings? Romance? That was far beyond the scope of Drew Tanaka. Billie was her first, meaningful relationship.

To be fair, Billie was by no means an experienced dater. When she was fifteen, she dated a boy in a futile attempt to prove herself that she wasn’t a lesbian. After giving him a hand job, she bounced. The boy, Dylan, was lovely, but Billie decided right then and there, dick was not for her. The beautiful, if not frustrating and emotionally stunted girl in front of her was definitely more of her type.

“I’m sorry,” Drew began again, “I do want you there. I’m just nervous.” Her eyes stared at a spot directly behind Billie’s head. Billie let a small laugh escape her lips before she noticed Drew’s expression. She switched tactics quickly.

Touching a well-manicured hand to Drew’s jawline, she began, “Nervous, darling? You don’t get nervous.” Drew leaned into her touch. Tears welled up in her eyes, making the darkness in them shimmer gently.

“Not usually,” she admitted, “But this recital is different.”

“Because it’s the one of the biggest of the year?”

“No,” she said as she once again leaned back on her heels.

“Because you have a solo?”

“No,” her eyes wouldn’t meet hers.

Billie was trying to be patient. Trying was the keyword. She inadvertently let out a huff. Since getting together, one of the things they had worked on as a couple was communication. On the outside, Drew was a fantastic communicator. She let everyone know things that were bothering her; Piper leaving uneaten pizza on the communal couch, the pegasi stable’s lack of personalized riding boots, and certainly how ugly the camp’s T-shirts were. Communicating about big things though? That was as foreign as learning how to navigate romantic feelings for her.

“It’s having you there.” Oh. Billie didn’t expect that. Or really understand what that meant. Drew must’ve seen the confusion that danced across her face, and she quickly continued, but not before letting a single tear fall. “I’ve never had somebody important come to one of my recitals. Well, I mean Lacy comes. But besides that, everyone I care about usually writes them off, or comes up with an excuse. Even–,” her voice broke a bit and a few more tears rolled down her cheeks. “Even my dad, who made me start playing the damn cello in the first place never bothered to come to one. He always had a meeting or had to go to Italy for a last-minute business trip or had to perfect a look for the runway.” She began to trail off.

Billie was at a bit of a loss. Sure, her and Drew were vulnerable with each other. They were dating. They’d _been_ dating for nearly five months. But she’d only experienced this level of openness from her girlfriend a few times. So, she didn’t say anything, and instead reached for her hand and gave it a small squeeze, urging her to continue.

“I’ve never had anyone want to come to one of my recitals. I’ve never had anyone actually _want_ to see me play before. I don’t know . . . it’s just you love me and want to support me. That’s a lot to get used to sometimes.” It was Billie’s turn for tears to well in her eyes. She swiped her thumb at a tear underneath Drew’s eyes, careful not to smudge too much of her makeup.

“God, sometimes Drew,” she trailed off, letting her hand go from her girlfriend’s eye to her jaw again. She leaned in, letting her lips press sweetly against hers. She pulled back after a few seconds, to Drew’s protest. “So, the dress code?”

The dress code was formal, as she expected. Billie walked arm and arm into the school’s auditorium with Lacy. The Brooklyn Academy of the Gifted never ceased to amaze her, despite visiting several times over the past couple of months. The vaulted ceilings were incredible, and it was hard to believe that this was only a high school. Then again, it was a school dedicated to the fine arts, with a massive endowment; a beautiful auditorium was a given.

“What are our seats again?”

“G7 and G8,” Lacy answered easily, pulling her arm from Billie’s for a second to flatten her dandelion yellow dress briefly. They soon settled into their seats, glancing around the large room both out of nerves for Drew’s upcoming performance and for fear of monsters in the crowd.

Within the hour, the lights were dimmed, and melodic music floated through the air. God, Billie thought, these people were talented. Billie didn’t know much about classical music, much to Drew’s dismay, but the point still stood: the orchestra was talented as hell. Billie, however, had eyes for one musician in particular. They were half-finished with Johann Strauss II’s “The Blue Danube”, and well-into the recital as a whole but Billie’s eyes had been trained on Drew the entire time. Everyone was dressed similarly, black tuxedos and floor-length, black dresses, yet Drew was somehow infinitely more elegant than the rest. Her hair was plaited behind her, with makeup kept simple for the occasion. The crowd couldn’t even see the faces of the performers well, which was a shame because Drew looked stunning; Billie had done her eyeshadow herself.

She was knocked out of her stupor when the crowd around her began to clap loudly. Overcompensating, for her late reaction to the piece being over, Billie clapped loudly a few times in quick succession. Lacy rolled her eyes, all too knowing. Intermission was then announced, and the pair got up, both to stretch their legs and scope out the perimeter for monsters. There was no such thing as too safe for a demigod; Billie had three throwing knives strapped to her thigh under her dress, and she knew for a fact that Lacy was similarly armed. They milled about the auditorium, chatting aimlessly, with Lacy doing most of the talking; it was her school after all.

Austin Lake had also made an appearance at the recital, much to Chiron’s chagrin. Three demigods in one confined space were already a risk, and four was pushing it. Austin however, had been quite firm in his desire to support his fellow musician. Billie also suspects there might have been some charmspeak on Drew’s end to guarantee the saxophone player’s appearance. The two weren’t particularly close, though, and Billie was a bit surprised to hear that they fought so hard for him to come tonight. After seeing his close proximity with a pretty, brown-haired girl, however, the pieces clicked into place. After some introductions – the girl’s name was Elisa, and in Lacy’s grade – the group chatted about the performance.

“Oh my god, Chelsea’s flute solo earlier was so lovely!” Elisa exclaimed.

“I know I bet she’s so pleased, she was stressing so much about it.” Billie tried to keep engaged with the conversation, but it was a bit difficult considering she had no idea who any of the people Lacy or Elisa were talking about were. Yes, Celia and Chase’s duet was great. Yeah, wow, Mr. Hawthorne was a total dick. Her interest was waning quickly, and she was happy the intermission was almost over so she could get back to staring shamelessly at her girlfriend.

It was just as she was about to suggest going back to their respective seats when Austin leaned over and whispered into her ear, “You’re lucky, Drew seems _very_ talented with her fingers.” Billie choked on air.

She continued to cough as she gave Austin a shove. Lacy and Elisa both looked concerned, obviously not having heard what Austin said.

“I’m fine,” she croaked, obviously not fine. Tears welled in the corner of her eyes, as the lights flickered to signal the intermission was well and truly over. She finally managed to catch her breath. “I’m going to go to the bathroom really quickly to freshen up, I’ll meet you at the seat, Lacy. Elisa it was lovely to meet you.”

“You too!” The girl gave a genuine smile. She seemed sweet. Too bad she seemed legitimately into Austin; there must be some underlying character flaw she was missing.

As she brushed past to the bathroom, she brushed past a smirking Austin and whispered, “Dick.” She heard him chuckle.

Signs, obviously for the recital, made a clear path to the bathrooms. She probably could have found her way anyway; she’d been to the school enough times already. Her heels clacked delicately against the tiled hallway. Everyone was in the auditorium, so the sound was quite crisp. Satisfying, even, Billie thought as she pushed the bathroom door open. Delicate viola notes began to filter softly through the air, even all the way down the hallway. She rested her purse down on the sink’s counter and looked into the mirror. Billie’s makeup was only slightly smudged from the tearful coughing, thank god. Billie tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear. She’d gone with a short, dark green dress tonight, and it looked pretty good with the cerulean blue bob she’d been rocking with lately. No time for vanity though, tonight was Drew’s night, she thought as she quickly reapplied mascara. She gave a quick pout in the mirror. Okay, maybe a little vanity. Lipstick will only take thirty more seconds, and she does want to look good for Drew. She put the mascara back in her bag, and quickly rummaged for the tube in her back.

She prepped her lips to pout, then stopped herself. The mirror behind her reflected what could only be described as portal behind her, emerging from what was, mere seconds ago, a brick wall. More interesting than the portal however, Billie can’t believe she just said that was the girl standing in the middle of it. She was about Billie’s height, so, not very tall. She was also dressed in sweatsuit and Doc Martens. She had a walking stick too. Listen, Billie wasn’t as fashion-savvy as Drew, however, she had standards. The girl was a fashion disaster. The girl was also staring at her reflection almost as intently as Billie was her. The girl seemed confused that she Billie was staring. No. She was confused that Billie was _able to_ stare. Mist?

Billie spun to face her directly, still holding her lipstick, but hands itching to grab the knives strapped to her thigh. The girl did not look particularly threatening but looks were deceiving in the magical world. She had a better look at her now that she was facing her directly, not gazing at her reflection. The portal still shimmered behind her, and it kind of reminded Billie of a Minecraft nether portal. From the auditorium, she heard the orchestra rise loudly into a crescendo. 

“I like your hair,” Billie said, to break some of the tension. She wasn’t lying, she was digging the dyed red hair, it was kind of edgy, and definitely added to the degenerate look this girl had going on.

“Thanks,” the girl said, her expression still hardened but eyes softening a bit. Her eyes. Holy shit, Billie had seen those eyes before. Blue eyes. Zeus eyes? No. Monster eyes? Maybe, but what kind. Her eyes were . . . where the fuck did she recognize this girl from? She wishes she were better were remembering faces. If Drew were here, she could probably remember who she was, Aphrodite kids were good at that sort of thing. Hell, she’d take Lacy at this point. Lacy. Holy shit that’s where she recognizes those eyes from. Lacy’s friend. Standing in a magic portal. Close friend with demigod, magic . . . Lacy befriended a monster.

In hindsight, what Billie did next was not exactly her smartest decision. In a fluid motion, she threw her lipstick at the Lacy’s friend – no, the monster – to distract her as she pulled out one of the knives from her hip. In one large leap she was across the bathroom, knife brandishing very close to the girl’s – monster’s – skin. The string instruments played muffled, but hurried notes. Drew was playing those notes. 

“Sadie Kane.” The monster’s eyes widened.

“Shit,” it whispered, and then in said something else in . . . Arabic? Billie remembers one of her knives clattering to the ground, the boom of a drum, and then darkness.


	2. The House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> looks like one more chapter in this little drabble!! whoop whoop!

When she awoke, she was, well, somewhere? She was awake, at least. She couldn’t seem to get her bearings. She appeared to be on the second or third story of a building, judging by how difficult it was to summon plants. Then again, Billie had never been particularly adept at that Demeter power. She was bound to a chair; weird, but not unheard of for monsters. Some liked to play with their food. She was also blindfolded but didn’t appear to have any fabric covering her eyes, which was strange. As she came to more, she realized something even more drastic: her hearing was muffled. She could tell that there were voices around her, chattering, but couldn’t make out any specific words.

Time to bite the bullet. “Hello?” Upon hearing her speak, she noticed the chatter increased. It was annoying and sounded similar to the cleaning harpies when they were particularly angry. The voices buzzed around her, chirping, until one, louder than the rest said . . . well something. It was clearer than the rest of the voices, if you could call them that, but still indistinguishable as actual words. The chatter around her stopped, lulling into a pleasant silence just as Billie regained her vision. Her arms and feet were still bound.

Standing directly in front of her was Lacy’s friend from the portal. Sadie Kane. She appeared to have ditched the staff but was still wearing the same atrocious outfit as before. God, monsters really needed to read an issue of Vogue. Next to her stood a tall Black boy, that looked similar to her, a sibling maybe? He was dressed just as horribly. Fashion did not appear to be this Addams family’s modus operandi. Another Black boy stood by Sadie’s side, but he was obviously not related to the two others. His skin was darker, for one, but also he was dressed better – if you could call black basketball shorts and a Nike hoodie better, that is. Poor fashion seemed to be a strict Kane family trait.

The three stared at her. God, did she have to do all the talking to these people? Billie was a bit scared, I mean, the last time she spoke directly to Lacy’s friend she ended up, well, here.

“You know, it’s a bit rude not to say hello back, let alone kidnap me. Where am I, anyway? I mean it’s nice don’t get me wrong, but still, I’d much prefer to be at the recital.” The room she was in _was_ nice; she took stock of it when she sized up the people in front of her. It was on the smaller side, but she could tell the building as a whole was much larger, and grander for that matter. The floors were dark, mahogany maybe? Modern monsters had taste, apparently.

“Who are you,” Sadie asked. Straight to the point. This girl didn’t really seem like Lacy’s style.

“I asked a question first, it’s considered rude not to answer.”

“I feel as if my question is more pressing.”

“You literally kidnapped me.” The boy in the hoodie seemed uncomfortable at the word kidnap and shuffled his feet a bit.

The boy, who she was assuming was Sadie’s brother, finally spoke, “This isn’t working. Listen, what Nome do you serve.” He was obviously trying to look intimidating.

“Uh, fuck, I don’t know . . . the garden variety?” He did not look impressed with her answer. Sadie made a small face at her answer; maybe she did have a sense of humor.

“This is not a laughing matter. You know my sister’s name. You were armed. You tried to attack her.” So, they were definitely siblings. The brother continued, “So, I’m going to ask again, what Nome do you serve. Or, are you a magician against hosting?” Magician? Hosting what? She’d been a hostess at Olive Garden for a while before coming to camp, but she had a feeling that was not what the angry boy in front of her was talking about.

“Listen, your knives could do serious damage. I cut my finger when I was taking them off your person and I barely touched the blade. If you were attempting to assassinate me, I think I should have a right to know.” Sadie held up her right hand; she _had_ sliced her finger.

Billie couldn’t help it, she laughed, then spit out, “This is obviously your first rodeo with interrogation.” The threesome in front of her looked a bit sheepish at her line. Seriously, you think after a millennia of hunting heroes, monsters would have better lines. Wait. Billie looked at Sadie’s finger. The blood was dried, but it matched the color of Sadie’s hair: red. Monsters don’t have red blood, unless their mist is particularly strong, which could be a possibility I mean Sadie conjured a portal . . . still . . .

“The blade shouldn’t have been able to cut you the way it did and let alone make you bleed,” she trailed off. Hopefully that statement was enough of a hint for the people in front of her to catch her drift. People? Demigods? Followers of Circe, maybe? As the gears in her head turned, she saw Sadie’s brothers do the same.

“You were able to see Sadie’s portal. But you’ve obviously never heard of a Nome,” the boy said, continuing on her previous train of thought.

“You’re not mortal,” the other boy finally spoke. Billie tried to keep her expression guarded, but she’d never been too good at that. The boy clutched at one of the gold chains around his neck. Suddenly, realization dawned on Sadie.

“Annabeth Chase,” she blurted. Annabeth Chase? How the fuck did this gutter rat of a girl know her. Sadie continued, “Did you, uh, go to summer camp with Annabeth Chase?”

The cogs in Billie’s head were turning so fast if she was a machine, she’d probably overheat. Sadie Kane knew Annabeth Chase. Sadie Kane knew about Camp Half-Blood.

“I did go to summer camp with her, yeah. A little place in Long Island.” She kept it simple, purposely vague. The group in front of her visibly relaxed, though Billie was still tense. The people in front of her weren’t monsters, but they were definitely still dangerous.

“In that case,” Sadie began, “far.” Far? What the hell did that mean? Just after Sadie said far, the ropes binding her began to relax, falling to the floor.

Billie couldn’t help her curiosity and asked, “Far?”

“Fah,” Sadie smiled, emphasizing the ‘h’ on the end, “It’s the divine word for release.” So many things did not make sense to Billie right now. Her head hurt from spinning a mile a minute.

Sadie brother reached out a hand to Billie as he said, “Sorry, we would have handled the situation a bit differently had we known you, uh, went to camp in Long Island.” Billie ignored the hand and stood to her feet herself. She wobbled a bit.

“Apologies, I kind of overdid it with the Hah-ri,” Sadie said. Upon seeing Billie confusion, she quickly backtracked, and said, “Hah-ri, it’s another divine word. It means silence. It’s what I used to knock you out back at the Academy.” That just added to her confusion. She needed some answers.

“So, I assume since you know about camp, you’re probably a friend of Circe’s as well as Annabeth. Maybe Pasiphaë?” Billie was trying to keep it vague, but god, she was not good at this kind of stuff. Drew was much more of the talker. God, Drew. She was probably worried sick.

The taller boy spoke again, “More like friends of Horus and Isis.” Horus. Isis. Billie wracked her brain. The mythological world had so many niche gods, there were far too many to remember. Billie even let her mind begin to wander to the Roman of the pantheon before she was startled out of her thoughts by Sadie’s brother.

“We’ve also met Percy Jackson.” So, this group knew Percy and Annabeth. Not surprising, those two probably knew everyone. It was what carter said next that shocked her, “He was also surprised to learn about the existence of Egyptian gods.” Billie had a headache before. It was now bumped up into the migraine level.

“How about we chat over some late breakfast?” Sadie suggested gently. Breakfast did sound good. Wait. Breakfast. When she went to the bathroom to reapply her makeup, it was about seven in the evening. Now it was breakfast time? Let alone time to have a _late_ breakfast?

“Sadie. How long did that Hah-ri thing you mentioned knock me out for?”

She had the audacity to look sheepish. The Romans had been a pain in Camp Half-Blood’s ass since they made their existence known, but at least they hadn’t kidnapped anybody and drugged them with magic. “About a day and a half.”

“A day and a –.” Holy shit. Holy shit. She had been gone, off the face of the Earth for a day and a half. There must be search parties all over Brooklyn for her. Maybe even Manhattan. Drew. She must be worried sick about her. “My girlfriends probably worried sick about me.”

The Black boy with the better style looked guilty, “Listen, you were right when you said this was our first rodeo with interrogation. It was our first kidnapping too. We promise we’ll set everything right, but can we please get you some food first?” She reluctantly agreed. In hindsight she should have enthusiastically agreed; Egyptians knew how to do food.

The rest of the house was magnificent, Billie had been right, not that she had a full tour. She had pretty much just seen the kitchen and great room, but god damn. People, ranging from late twenties to elementary schoolers milled about the house, not paying much attention to the new arrival even though she looked like she was doing a walk of shame. Ten in the morning and she was still wearing a green sequin dress with smudged makeup. Nice.

They ate on the balcony – which had a pool! and an alligator! – and had quite a spread of food. Billie was ravenous, after all, she hadn’t eaten in thirty-six hours. They chatted, both sides exchanging minimum of information, though. Billie explained that she went to Camp Half-Blood, and was a daughter of Demeter. A small blond boy who had joined them for the meal seemed particularly excited at the fact she knew Percy Jackson. Seriously, the guy was not all that. Sadie, and her brother, whose name she now knew was Carter, explained the concept of Nomes to her. The other boy, Walt, chimed in occasionally. She could tell he felt the guiltiest about her kidnapping.

It had only been fifteen minutes since she had left the interrogation room, and even though the conversation was _fascinating_ , seriously, more gods, her mind never left Drew. She was probably sick with worry. She also hadn’t kidnapped anyone but felt extremely guilty; she had missed her girlfriend’s solo. She stopped Sadie in the middle of explaining Duat travel.

“Listen, I really need to contact Camp Half-Blood. Let them know I’m alive and to call off the hellhounds.” The table seemed compliant, except for the blond kid who was so intrigued by the conversation and did not want to stop talking. Sadie had been kind enough to give her purse back, and she fished for a Drachma from within its depths.

Throwing the coin into the air, above the pool, she said, “Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering, show me,” and then she faltered. She should call Drew. Let her know she’s okay. However, she needed someone who could use her head. Drew was useless in a crisis, unfortunately. “Show me Lacy.” Lacy’s bright face filled the mist, and immediately relief washed over both of them.

“Oh my god, Billie! Thank god you’re okay!”

“Yeah, I was accidently kidnapped by some magicians.” Lacy gave a giggle. “Everything is okay, though.” From behind Billie, at the table, she heard Sadie Kane begin to sputter, and heard a chair push against tile. Chaos was about to ensue, once again.

“Holy fucking shit,” Sadie shouted.

“Sadie, language”

“Wanker, look!” Sadie joined Billie’s side in the Iris message. It was now Lacy’s turn to sputter. In the chaos of the morning, Billie had forgotten the reason she recognized Sadie in this first place; she was Lacy’s friend. Obviously, the pair hadn’t been that close if neither of them realized each other’s ties to their respective pantheons. Or maybe, they were just oblivious. Probably the latter.

Billie essentially had her Iris call hijacked by the two girls. God, they were so loud. It wasn’t until the voice of Iris said, “Thirty seconds in this call remain,” that Lacy quickly made a pick-up plan.

“We’ll come get you with the pegasi as soon as possible! Okay, sorry love you both!” Lacy made a kissy face, and swiped her hand through the mist, ending their call.

“Leave it to you two to be friends for a whole year and not realize that that one of you is a demigod and the other the host of a god,” Billie teased. She heard Carter and Walt both laugh behind her. She was still a bit anxious, but she was beginning to trust the magicians a bit. They were good people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you all enjoyed. again, tumblr is @bisexualsadie, so send compliments, complaints, and criticism that way


	3. The Cabin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> final chap of this little thing :)

Within an hour, eight pegasi hooves were touching down on the tiled balcony of Brooklyn House. The alligator did not seem too pleased by them, but, judging by how skittish the pegasi were, the feeling was mutual. Many of the younger magicians were practically drooling at the winged horses, especially the blond boy who had joined them for breakfast, whose name Billie learned was Felix. Billie had cleaned up a bit since the Iris call; the residents of Brooklyn house had shown her a lot of hospitality, though she was still pissed about the kidnapping. Nevertheless, she appreciated the shower greatly and appreciated the cotton sweatsuit a bit less. Sadie had explained that cotton was the best conductor of magic, or something like that. It was still ugly, and Drew would certainly think so too. Drew. She shifted off the pegasus with ease and ran over to where Billie was standing. The taller girl cradled her face in her hands gently, before enveloping her body in a warm hug.

She couldn’t help it; against her girlfriend’s chest, Billie sniffled a bit, “I missed your solo.” Billie was being stupid; she knew she was. Drew was probably infinitely more worried about her girlfriend seemingly disappearing off the face of the earth for thirty-six hours than she was said girlfriend missing her cello solo, but still. Billie knew that the performance was important to her. That thought made her even more upset. Her mind was a mess. Drew had been nervous about the performance because Billie was going to be in attendance and Billie was important to her and – her thoughts were cut short by Drew’s lips pressing gently against the top of her forehead. She melted further against her. The morning had been an absolute whirlwind, and while safe in Drew’s arms she finally allowed her mind to process it. She had been magically knocked out and kidnapped. The captors ended up being lovely, but it was still a harrowing ordeal. She then had her world tipped on its head upon learning about _another_ pantheon of gods that roamed the Earth. It was a lot to process. She also felt guilty about how worried Drew had probably been for her. She’d probably thought she had died. God, Billie imagined being in her shoes, with Drew missing. With that thought she let out a small, choked sob against her girlfriend's chest.

“I don’t care about the solo, darling. I care that you’re safe.” Drew had obviously sensed that Billie’s mind had been spinning with thoughts far beyond her cello recital and held her a bit closer. “You’re safe,” Drew said again, this time lacing her words with a little bit of charmspeak. Billie didn’t mind it. She felt her body relax. She allowed herself a few more moments before pulling away from Drew’s arms and rubbing the remaining tears from her eyes. She gave her a watery smile.

“I love you.” Drew bit her bottom lip softly, her own face breaking out into a close-mouthed grin.

“I love you too.” It was at that point that Billie realized they had an audience; she didn’t mind, it was a public display, after all. In fact, she found it hilarious: Sadie Kane looked absolutely shocked. It was almost comical. In that moment, Billie realized she never mentioned her girlfriend by name; Sadie did not realize that in addition to Lacy, Drew was also involved in the mythological world. They hadn’t exactly had a conversation beyond, “Can I freshen up somewhere?” and, “Do you have a change of clothes I can borrow?” since the Iris call.

Fortunately, it seems Lacy had prepped Drew a bit on the situation. Drew stepped towards Sadie, and said, “Kane.”

Sadie picked her jaw up off the ground to manage, “Tanaka.” Billie had a feeling that a very dangerous fight could ensue if the two girls were left unchecked. Luckily, Lacy intervened, bounding towards the group. She had previously been engaged with Felix and a red-headed girl, who Billie would later find out were asking her a million and one questions about the pegasi.

Lacy looked a bit nervous as she said, “Sadie, I guess I can now officially introduce you to my sister, Drew.” Sadie balked at the word sister. Carter seemed equally confused.

“I’m not one to talk about looking different from a sibling but, uh, you two don’t exactly look alike,” Carter said cautiously.

Lacy answered easily, “Drew and I are half-siblings. Godly DNA works strangely.”

“Right,” Carter drew out the word, staring between Lacy, who was smiling, Drew, who was not, and Sadie whose eyes were seriously about to pop out of her damn head.

“So, her being a bitch to you was just sibling fun, or what?” Sadie’s tone was half joking, half scathing as she turned to Lacy. After that remark, Billie definitely wanted to hear more about Drew’s relationship with Sadie. It’s not that people thought Drew was a bitch but actually misunderstanding her intentions; her girlfriend could be downright mean to people. It had got better lately, Drew was trying to be a better person, but, if Sadie’s tone was any depiction, old wounds were slow to close.

Drew spoke up, pulling Billie against her side as she did so, “I don’t pretend to be a good person all the time, Kane. I do love my siblings though, and yes, I _was_ awful to Lacy; partially to disguise the fact that we share a mother and grew up three feet apart.”

Lacy added, with jest “Also she’s just plain mean sometimes.”

When Billie first met Drew, the girl’s sour attitude and Regina George-complex had turned her off. Billie didn’t like pretty people with mean hearts. With time though, Billie realized that part of her attitude came from the environment she grew up in; a toxic, overworked father, and a string of model mistresses, all of whom impressed into her that life was cruel and merciless to those who didn’t throw the first punch. The pair did not start dating until Drew realized that same fact; something that took months and a lot of attitude checks. Although nearly two decades of ingrained ruthlessness didn’t disappear overnight, Billie was proud of her progress. Her closer relationship with Lacy was a testament to that. Billie had no doubt that Drew was, once upon a time, vicious towards the younger girl. Drew really was trying to turn it around though, and her desire to be a better sister and rejecting her upbringing was part of the reason Billie loved her.

The Kane siblings did not seem as convinced of the girl’s goodness however, but let it slide for the sake of civility. Walt stood by Sadie with a hand on the small of her back as if saying, “Leave it be Sadie. Please, for the love of god don’t kill her.” Billie was beginning to admire her fiery attitude, despite the fact that at that very movement the malice was aimed at her girlfriend.

Thank god for Felix running up to the group, breaking the tension. The boy wheezed, “Do the Greeks have magical penguin animals because I really like penguins and –,” he was talking so quickly without breathing it looked like he was about to pass out. Lacy laughed good naturedly and explained that, as far as she knew, the Greek pantheons did not have magical penguins. He looked crestfallen.

By the time the Greek trio returned to Camp Half-Blood, the sun was beginning to set. The Greeks thanked the kidnapping magicians, with promises to come over for brunch soon and chat more. Sadie had even seemed to warm up a bit to Drew by the end of their visit, which she seemed pleased about. The autumn air was chilly against Billie’s skin; cotton sweats were made for the days in the desert, not a New York state evening in mid-October. She wrapped her body tighter against Drew’s, feeling basking in her warmth.

She’d rarely been so happy to collapse into a camp bed as she was that night. Since Piper had been gone, Drew had hijacked the counselor’s room, with permission from Piper of course. The room smelled pleasantly of Drew; juniper and cinnamon, the same scent Billie had breathed in the entire way from Brooklyn to Long Island. Sleeping in the Aphrodite Cabin was against the rules, but Billie had made friends with the harpies, so . . .

The two changed out of their clothes. Billie had been right; Drew did comment on how ugly the magician’s sweatsuit was. The pair snuggled into bed. Despite having been divinely knocked out for a day and a half, fatigue still wracked Billie’s body. Usually, Drew liked to be the little spoon, despite the height difference, but tonight she made no attempts to be the one held. Instead, she pulled Billie close into her body, arms tight as if she would disappear from between her arms.

“I was so worried,” Drew whispered into nape of her neck.

“I know you were. I’m sorry,” Billie whispered back softly. There was really no need to whisper, Lacy was on the far end of the cabin, probably already fast asleep; many of the campers, including herself and Drew, had been up since five combing Brooklyn for her. Still, the whispering felt nice. It was as if the two of them were their own little bubble, vulnerable to being popped but beautiful and delicate all the same.

“You don’t have to apologize. You didn’t kidnap yourself, darling.” Billie melted a little bit at the name. Drew loved calling people variations of babe, baby, what have you; but darling and sweetie and honey were intimate, and special, and _hers_.

“I’m still upset I missed your solo.”

Cockily, Drew said, “Don’t worry, there’ll be many more solos.” Billie had to giggle at that. “I have to ask, what was your favorite part of the recital? You know, that you saw.”

Billie wrapped her hand around Drews, which was resting on her stomach, “The opening to the Blue Danube Waltz. I’ve heard you practice it so many times that being able to finally hear it meshing with the rest of the orchestra . . . ,” she trailed off, reliving the moment in the auditorium.

“That isn’t even a difficult section,” Drew chuffed. Again, Billie’s lack of knowledge of classical music never ceased to annoy Drew.

“Shush, it was pretty,” she chastised, turning so she was facing Drew, “Not as pretty as you though.” Drew’s face flushed. Simple compliments like that always got a reaction, and Billie giggled as she leaned in to kiss her. Her lips were soft but her hand that had fallen on the small of her back was firm, protecting, possessive. Their lips moved together gently before Drew sighed and leaned way from the kiss.

Billie’s eyes fluttered open a few moments later, still feeling the ghost of her lips as she stared into Drew’s watery eyes. A few tears slipped down her cheeks.

“Hey, hey. What’s wrong?” She maneuvered one of her hands so it rested against Drew’s cheek, catching one of the tears as it fell.

“Nothing’s wrong, anymore,” Drew whispered as more tears fell. “It’s just you’re perfect, Billie, and I thought I lost you. But you’re here and that’s great but . . . ,” she faltered.

“But what . . . ,” her voice was soft, almost as if she was coaxing a small animal out of hiding.

“It’s just what Sadie was saying, on the balcony. I’m not really a good person, even to people I care about, like Lacy and I’m worried that . . . ,” she stopped again, tears coming more quickly now. A sob clutched at Drew’s throat.

“You’re worried you’ll hurt me?” Billie continued, softly, questioningly. The silence from the girl beside her was enough of an answer.

Slowly, Billie swiped away at every tear that dotted Drew’s face, punctuating each movement with a soft kiss. Even after the tears stopped falling, Billie continued to dot soft kisses across her cheeks, forehead, and the bridge of her nose. Billie often had troubling grappling with the fact that Drew had hurt so many people. She had seen her say scathing words to people, scare people into submission. Yet she knew she was trying fervently to be better. To be better than her past self, to be better than the father who raised her, and certainly to be better than Aphrodite. She wished everyone could see that Drew was trying to be better.

Lacy had seen it. Mitchell was coming around, and so were many of the other Aphrodite campers. Billie wondered what Sadie Kane would think if she could see Drew now, small and tear-stained. She’d probably pity her. Drew would hate that; both the pity and the vulnerability. Billie decided that a few visits to Brooklyn House were probably in order, to show Sadie Kane the real Drew Tanaka, the Drew that was attempting to be better and kinder; the Drew that Billie knew was there all along, and that Drew was finally starting to see.

Billie finally placed one lingering kiss onto Drew’s lips.

“You’re trying, Drew. I’m not happy about the person you used to be, but I’m not going to hold it against you either. You’re trying though, and I am so proud of the kind, loving person you’re becoming. I love all of you. Every bit of you, good and bad. And I will continue to love everything about you, as you continue to mature and change.” Billie tucked a strand of hair behind Drew’s ear. Drew smiled softly, in awe. Many more I-love-you’s were exchanged that night, as well as chaste, sleep-ridden kisses. The pair finally went to sleep with the promise that the next morning Drew would recreate her solo for Billie. Hypnos, and maybe Tutu too, blessed the pair with blissful, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @bisexualsadie on tumblr ;)


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